Navy to start ventilating eighth Red Hill Facility tank; air quality monitoring continues  

Navy Closure Task Force-Red Hill (NCTF-RH) will begin venting tank 20 at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHBFSF) this week, marking another step in the facility’s decommissioning process. Tank decommissioning involves various steps, to include defueling, venting, and ultimately the permanent closure of each tank.

With approval from the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, NCTF-RH will begin the safe and deliberate venting, or degassing, of tank 20. Tank 20 is the eighth tank out of 14 to undergo the ventilation process, which is the first step in preparing for cleaning and decommissioning of the 20 RHBFSF tanks. Six of the facility’s 20 tanks were empty and out of service before defueling began. More information on the decommissioning progress, to include steps involved in tank cleaning and pipeline removal of the facility is available here:

The initial degassing phase eliminates volatile organic compound emissions from the tank by pushing clean air from the bottom of the tank upward and exhausting it through a ventilation system. While this process ensures a safe working environment within the tanks, NCTF-RH has also taken steps to monitor air quality in the area around the tanks and the facility.

Nine air quality monitoring (AQM) stations are located in and around RHBFSF, including one at the Halawa Correctional Facility. These stations track changes in air quality, measure emission levels, and collect atmospheric data, such as air speed, wind direction, temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure. NCTF-RH continuously monitors the air quality to ensure emissions from ventilation remain under the DOH’s limit of 38 parts per million by volume (ppmv) total VOCs. Since degassing operations began in summer 2024, emission readings have averaged 0.045 ppmv.

NCTF-RH ensures AQM data is available to the public during and after the degassing phase on the NCTF-RH mobile app and the website at: https://www.navyclosuretaskforce.navy.mil/Tank-Ventilation/Air-Quality-Monitoring-AQM/. During venting operations, AQM data is updated hourly on the NCTF-RH mobile app, and daily on the NCTF-RH website.

For more information about NCTF-RH, visit www.navyclosuretaskforce.navy.mil or download our free mobile app by searching for “NCTF-Red Hill” in the Apple App store or Google Play store.